Dodd at the bill signing for his Family Medical Leave Act.After eight years of fighting, Dodd’s Family Medical Leave Act is finally passed and signed into law on February 5 by the new President, Bill Clinton. The law enables workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave if they are ill or need to care for a sick family member or new child.

Senator Dodd authors the Government Securities Act Amendments of 1993, which amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by permanently reauthorizing the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s rulemaking authority. The bill becomes law on December 17.

Between 1993 and 1994, Dodd secures millions of dollars for Connecticut projects including:

$48.6 million for the West Haven Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center to fund construction of a clinical addition to link the center’s two main buildings and provide additional outpatient space;

$200 million for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor Improvement Project, which establishes the first high-speed rail system in the nation; and

$2.5 million for Hartford Children’s Hospital (now Connecticut Children’s Medical Center) to place all pediatric facilities under one roof, consolidating and coordinating pediatric services and improving health care outreach to underprivileged children in Hartford.